Our research

Through research into self-esteem, body image, and body confidence, we’ve uncovered the difficulty women and girls have in recognising their real beauty.

Our global research has highlighted a universal issue: that beauty-related pressure increases whilst body confidence decreases as girls and women grow older – stopping young girls from seeing their real beauty. Here are some key findings from our recent study The Real Truth About Beauty: Revisited

Only 4% of women around the world consider themselves beautiful (up from 2% in 2004)

Only 11% of girls globally are comfortable describing themselves as ‘beautiful’

72% of girls feel tremendous pressure to be beautiful

80% of women agree that every woman has something about her that is beautiful, but do not see their own beauty

More than half of women globally (54%) agree that when it comes to how they look, they are their own worst beauty critic

Dove Research: The Real Truth About Beauty: Revisited
Our research programs and the Dove Self-Esteem Project are making a real difference – but there’s still a long way to go. Want to help? Explore our self-esteem toolkits and resources and join us in the battle against low self-esteem.